title: [Is bronchoscopy a useful additional preoperative examination in esophageal carcinoma?].
abstract: Between 1980 and 1987 95 patients with esophageal carcinoma had a bronchoscopy. In 67 patients (70.5%) no pathological findings could be detected. In 24 patients (25.3%) signs of impingement were present and in 4 patients (4.2%) tumor infiltration into the tracheobronchial tree was visible. The correlation between tumor length and bronchoscopic findings revealed a marked increase of direct and indirect tumor evidence in esophageal carcinomas of more than 5 cm in length. Pathologic bronchoscopic findings were detected twice as often in patients with carcinoma of the upper third of the esophagus in comparison with those of the middle third. In 5 patients (5.3%) bronchoscopy revealed an unknown additional bronchial carcinoma. 67 of the 95 patients underwent operation. In 59 patients the esophagus was resected. Among the normal bronchoscopic findings the operability rate was 77.6%. In contrast, only half of the patients with pathological bronchoscopic findings were operable, the other patients received radiotherapy. We recommend, therefore, preoperative bronchoscopy as an important investigation for assessment of operability and for evaluation of synchronous neoplasms in patients with an esophageal carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung Allgemeine Chirurgie mit Poliklinik, Chirurgischen Universitätsklinik Freiburg.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Imadahl
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kirchner
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Swoboda
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ruf
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001984:Bronchial Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011300:Preoperative Care; D014134:Tracheal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis
vernacular_title: Ist die Bronchoskopie beim Osophaguskarzinom eine sinnvolle präoperative Zusatzuntersuchung?